Southwest - GDHQNBA15_2pg-Dallas Mavericks

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WESTERN CONFERENCE
SOUTHWEST DIVISION
Dallas
Last spring, Dallas took the eventual NBA champion San Antonio
Spurs to seven games in their first-round playoff series. This after the
Mavericks had retooled last offseason, adding Jose Calderon, Samuel
Dalembert and Monta Ellis. But after an acclimation period, Calderon
and Ellis became key contributors alongside Vince Carter, Shawn
Marion and former League and Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki.
Well, Calderon, Carter, Dalembert and Marion each departed in the
offseason. But once again, Dallas has reloaded, bringing in Al-Farouq
Aminu, veteran big man Tyson Chandler, a key member of their 2011
NBA championship team, Raymond Felton, Richard Jefferson, Jameer
Nelson and Chandler Parsons.
“We’re obviously very excited about this team,” Dallas head coach
Rick Carlisle said at a September press conference to introduce the
Mavericks’ new additions. “Coming into this year, we know we’re going
to be a better team than we were last year just based on the analytics.”
DEFENSE
Carlisle admitted last year’s Mavericks were not very good
defensively. He hopes bringing Chandler back is the catalyst the
Mavericks need to show rapid improvement on that end of the floor.
“I want the guys to feel secure and safe,” Chandler said at Dallas’
media day. “Nobody should ever feel like they’re on an island where
they have to be the best defender in the League. We just have to
play together.”
Chandler, the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and threetime
All-Defensive Team member returns with high expectations, which
he welcomes. “It’s not pressure. It’s excitement,” he said. “It’s a very
talented group. The guard play is gritty and I feel like we’re really going
to get after guys. It’s more excitement than
it is pressure.”
One big loss defensively is the departure
of Marion, Dallas’ top perimeter defender, to
Cleveland. However, Carlisle feels adding Aminu
and Parsons will be enough to mitigate that loss.
“Marion was a great player for us. We’ll miss
a lot of what he did,” Carlisle said. “We feel like
we can cover him. Chandler Parsons is a solid
defender. Al-Farouq Aminu is going to be one
of our better perimeter defenders because of
his quickness and length.”
But the only question about Chandler is his
durability. He missed 63 games over his three
seasons in New York after playing 74 for Dallas
in 2010-11, and that has always been a concern
with the big man.
“I’ve had injuries in my career,” Chandler said.
“Whether it’s fair or not it’s not for me to sit up
here and worry. I just go day by day and try
to ensure that I’m capable of performing at the
best of my abilities, and then from there you
never know what happens.”
Dallas likes Aminu’s length and athleticism
and holdover Brandan Wright delivers similar
qualities off the bench or as an occasional
starter. Third-year swingman Jae Crowder is
adept at coming off the bench and delivering
big defensive stops while also contributing
from long range.
Some wonder what sort of magic Carlisle can work on the likes of
Felton and Nelson, two players not exactly known for defense in their
previous stops. Last season, he showed Ellis the virtues of playing D,
how it can help his offensive game and Ellis bought in. Carlisle’s also
worked wonders with Nowitzki, so expecting similar results with Felton
and Nelson isn’t a big stretch.
OFFENSE
With a likely starting five of Nelson, Ellis, Parsons, Chandler and
Nowitzki, scoring shouldn’t be much of an issue for the Mavericks.
Dallas is loaded at point guard with three solid veterans in Felton, Devin
Harris, who figures to again come off the bench, and Nelson.
“I see Jameer Nelson, Ray Felton and Devin Harris all playing both
guard positions,” Carlisle said. “We like attackers. We like guys that can
make plays both with and without the ball. I just want good basketball
players that want to win and I think we have that.”
Carlisle has already said he won’t be afraid to employ a three-guard
lineup when that would be advantageous to the Mavs, an idea all three
point men are in favor of.
Monta Ellis
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